


A, Men

by Cyrelia_J



Series: Let Me Hear [3]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Biology, Anal Sex, Attempt at Humor, Breeding Kink, Dubious Morality, Dubious Science, Explicit Sexual Content, Face-Fucking, Genetic Engineering, M/M, Oral Sex, POV Alternating, Porn With Plot, Size Kink, Sort of omegaverse, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-03-26 20:52:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13865790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyrelia_J/pseuds/Cyrelia_J
Summary: A year after the events of "I, Garak", Julian and Garak have actually managed to settle into a relationship that's somewhat normal and healthy. With Julian's cycles held in better control and the two of them growing closer, Garak thinks that life couldn't be better. Julian had suggested they take precautions once their relations became more regular and their roles reversed more frequently but Garak had scoffed at the improbability that anything could possibly go wrong.Cue "anything".“So it would appear that my genetic material has unfortunately latched onto yours and created some irreversible side effects.” Minus the benefit of enhanced reflexes and intellect but you know, funny thing, science.Will be added more warnings as they appear, likely towards the master/submissive end so stay tuned!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is then, the third and final installment of this crazy universe! I had toyed with the idea of messing with Jadzia but decided to keep that for a separate side story if it ended up happening. I don't know if I'd call this a "comeuppance" for Garak exactly, more of an excuse for more porn haha. But hopefully it satisfies and I look forward to really getting into some good stuff. 
> 
> I also want to give a massive shoutout to Tinsnip because the "Speculative Cardassian Reproductive Xenobiology" that she has done is beautiful and I've adopted a lot (though not all) of ideas into this here. You can check it out on AO3 as well and I totally encourage it!
> 
> Thank you for all your support with this, it's been a fun ride!

Julian is in his room. Garak is aware of Julian’s scent before he sees him, his eyes slowly blinking awake in the darkness when he feels the dip of the mattress: the lower left corner to be exact. He’s been having an unusually hot night, which is strange as Garak rarely finds that the temperature even in _his_ quarters ever gets too warm. Still, he’s kicked off the sheets and sits up, looking at Julian seated there appearing oddly... sensual? Garak blinks a few times not sure if his eyes can actually be trusted when he notices that Julian is wearing nothing but a cotton undershirt and those tight fitting dark blue shorts of his. Garak imagines then that Julian has chosen, as he commonly does when in Garak’s quarters, to eschew shoes.

“I’m sorry to wake you, Elim,” Julian whispers in a soft teasing lilt of a voice, “but I was a little concerned about the reports coming from your room from the med bay so I thought I might check in on you.” Garak is sure there’s something not quite right with that as Julian starts slowly crawling up his bed. It takes him a moment to realize it’s the fact that Julian never initiates sexual activity this way. In his defense, he _was_ considerably distracted by Julian’s shirt clinging to him, already covered in a thin sheen of sweat in Garak’s “insufferably muggy swamp of a room”.

“Well,” Garak says, eyes never leaving Julian’s long slender body, “I can certainly think of worse reasons to be woken from what was a rather fitful slumber anyway. But how did you-”

“Emergency medical override,” Julian whispers in a teasing voice usually reserved for intimate moments much further along. Garak can see as his eyes sweep further down that Julian is absolutely aroused, and the moment that thought hits him, that scent hits him thick in the already heavy air. Oh… oh it is that time of the season already? Garak wonders as Julian puts a hand to his bare chest and pushes him back to the pillow. Well that explains a lot but it doesn’t quite explain the-

“I could sense the unusual elevation in your body temperature, Elim,” Julian says as his mouth is sliding over the sensitive skin over the pulse of his neck. Garak shivers again as Julian straddles his thighs. “You were so hot,” Julian breathes, breath ghosting down further, tongue laving around the ridges of his _chula_ , setting off another warm rush deep in his belly, his chest growing hot too. The cause is Julian’s thumb circling the dense scales over his left pectoral, those sensitive nubs prickling eagerly, and he feels his head go back further onto the pillow. Garak is torn between wanting to watch and wanting to shut his eyes and just sink into Julian’s hands. Julian, he’s learned in the last year since The Incident, can play with his body for _hours_ when not in the throes of that heat, can worship every inch of him with that soft mouth, and Garak can feel his toes curl as those scales are worked into rigid excitement.

“I was worried,” Julian teases, and Garak isn’t sure how he even understood him with his tongue playing that dip. The sensation makes his hip twitch beneath Julian’s weight. Garak’s nipples are pushing out prominently amongst those smaller scales, and his mouth falls open as Julian’s hips circle slowly, Julian’s stomach sliding over his slit, that pressure starting to bear down lightly over that sensitive dip right above, causing an unconscious bucking of hips once more followed by a hiss of pleasure. 

“I was afraid you’d overheat without me.” Garak is about to overheat _with_ him and he can feel that stirring, that rush of blood as Julian’s mouth moves to his nipple sucking hard. One of Julian’s hands moves back- Garak isn’t sure which- and before Garak can blink again, somehow those shorts are off and that shirt is discarded to some dark distant corner of the room. Another blink, another shaky breath, and Garak can feel Julian’s hard prick pushing against the scales over his hipbone, Julian having slipped his knee between Garak’s legs to straddle his left thigh.

“Julian,” he gasps, feeling the roll of Julian’s hips, hearing Julian purr as skin meets scales, foreskin pushed back, the tip of Julian’s cock painting slick. Garak hears the soft sighs, feels Julian wriggle on him, getting off on just his leg, and Garak just now realizes that he too is naked. He could swear he went to bed fully clothed but-

“Please, may I put it in my mouth, Elim?” Julian begs against his ear with another push into his leg and Julian is always so circumspect with those little entreaties that it absolutely _does things_ to him to be asked such filthy things with that proper Julian speech.

“Of course you may,” he answers, letting his hands come unstuck from the mattress and indulge in a caress of Julian’s soft skin, a squeeze of Julian’s flank, loving the give of that tight tiny ass when he gives a good rough squeeze to it, and Julian’s soft wet panting into his sensitive ear canal is already making him start to evert in spite of himself.

“Not yet… I want to feel it... do that inside,” Julian says before slipping like mercury down, down, practically through Garak’s fingers, that dark crown of hair already between his legs. Julian’s large eyes look up luminously in the dark, promising and lusty. Garak calculates they may be a few days from his cycle give or take but he’s already so much more eager, so wanting with his mouth to Garak’s slit. His naughty tongue flicks over the tip of Garak’s cock just barely a centimeter everted- that tease barely felt to the less sensitive scales- when Julian’s lips press a slow bob, up down, with a sigh engulfing it. 

No matter the season, no matter the place, Garak can usually rely on Julian to readily offer his mouth even when not in the mood for other things. He can recall vividly a recent incident in his shop when Julian disappeared down beneath the table while they were both in the back, Garak standing up working on his sketches. Garak had ripped through several sheets of terribly expensive paper, pen snapping, when Julian knelt between his legs and began that slow indulgent suck. He told him later that the feeling of Garak coming to full eversion in his mouth had aroused him so strongly that he had to take himself in hand, and Garak can remember Julian’s mouth tightening almost painfully soon after as he came right there.

Garak groans, swearing softly as Julian’s head bobs with every everted bit of his shaft. Garak feels himself swell, feels his cock leaving warmth for fire, Julian’s mouth a few degrees hotter than normal when about to enter one of his cycles, and Garak’s hips rock, held back down by Julian’s expert hands. It makes him growl in frustration when Julian’s head pulls back to lick, to tease around the ridges of his half everted shaft, the sensitive scales on the sides swelling, Julian’s lips pressing, sucking, drawing those louder “ahs” from him, drawing a hiss with another hard deep suck, and he can feel the tip of his prick starting to hit Julian’s throat. It nearly gags him. He knows now that Julian loves that. 

Garak’s hands move to fist hard in the sheets, hips twisting a small measure left and right desperate to thrust, to push, and Julian releases Garak’s left hip just long enough to wordlessly take his wrist and yank his hand to the back of his head. Oh sweet merciful Ancients, Julian is in a _mood_ , and Garak wastes no time putting both hands to that soft curl of hair, careful to maintain control as Julian releases his hips completely. Garak watches Julian’s hands interlock behind his back leaving that sweet hot mouth all his to just _use_. His cock is fully everted now, swollen, pressing thickly down Julian’s throat. Garak feels the spasms, feels the tight clench as Julian adjusts, Garak himself needing a moment to breathe so he doesn’t just mindlessly release. Julian’s lips tremble around the base of the shaft as if it’s a trial for him to keep his mouth open so wide and Garak can feel the barest scrape of his teeth along those ridges. _Oh... oh yesss…_

Garak moves, slowly at first hips moving in time with his hands, fucking slow and deep down Julian’s throat. He can feel it close, feel Julian’s careful breaths out his nose, warm on that sensitive divot above his slit, and he feels the gasps, constrictions that again bring him so close to spilling after hardly a minute. He feels Julian start to move his hips again, resuming the drag of prick against scales with more insistence, showing Garak just how much this is turning him on. Garak feels the damp grow, feels frantic grinding down, lovely writhing as Julian’s breaths get more needy, his throat gets tighter and Garak has no idea how he takes every inch down that glorious mouth but he _does_. He lets Garak use him, Garak feeling that heaviness, that ache, that pulse that _Guls_ makes him thrust harder, deeper, knowing that Julian will give a quick double tap  if it gets to be too much.

He doesn’t. Garak hears the high whimpers, can feel Julian half bouncing against him more in earnest, fast, Garak’s hips starting to snap up harder. The first time he couldn’t imagine that Julian could truly derive pleasure from such a rough face fucking, but that first time as Garak released his head, he could see the lust swimming in hazel eyes, face red, mouth slack, spit dribbling down the side along with Garak’s come and a needy look Garak didn’t think was possible outside his cycle. Garak looks down at him just a moment longer, seeing his hands rubbing his forearms, holding tighter, Julian’s entire body tense. Garak lets his head fall back then, surrendering to that sensation, eyes shut, his own breaths catching as he groans, hisses frantically, the bed bouncing beneath them both. His cock bounces to the back of Julian’s throat and he can feel that constriction increase, the pulse squeezing tighter with more urgency. 

He lets Julian’s head up whispering that he’s close, that he needs to release in his mouth, feeling a tightness starting to grow between his legs, right at the root of his cock and he allows Julian a moment to catch his breath before he catches a quick nod and whisper of “more”. Garak gives him more, slowly feeding every inch back to him, feeling Julian’s mouth engulf him in heat once more, tip passing from lips back to windpipe, Julian’s throat coming full stop, tight around his cock, halfway down and Garak feels that tightness increase, feel his legs tremble as his hips buck and there’s that spasm of his prick hard, feeling a swell start from the base as he comes down Julian’s throat, letting go and… …and that swell only increases even after he’s sure that he’s peaked, the tight feeling only growing more insistent, nearing pain, almost feel as if he’s about to burst open from the root and-

Garak wakes up with a yell, sitting bolt upright in bed realizing he was dreaming just as he realizes that painful pressure is still there threatening to burst, his pajama bottoms, his sheets already soaked with far more fluid than he ever thought he was capable of producing. _What… By the State what is…_ He hisses as another throb shoots through him part pleasure, part pained as he awkwardly pushes the sticky sheets back down, cursing as he works his pajama bottoms down, feeling them catch on his hard, aching prick, soaked, looking far darker than he thinks is natural. Perhaps the darkness of the room or the- _Guls and Ancients, what…_ Okay, _that_ is not natural. That massive swelling at the base of his cock putting more pressure on his slit than he’s sure he can handle and his eyes catch it almost comically wide. Those are his genitals but that… that _thing_ most certainly does not belong there! 

Garak opens his mouth, closes it again, feeling a scream coming as ludicrous as that is hoping that this too is nothing but a dream but finding as he passes out that no, no in fact it is not.

 

“You’re laughing at me. I know you’re laughing at me, don’t even _try_ to deny it.” Garak hisses the accusation from the hospital bed, legs in stirrups- beneath a sheet for his dignity- to relieve the pressure as Julian turns away from him, hand over his mouth taking a deep breath. Of course he’s laughing at him. How could he _not_ laugh at the sight of Garak laying there indignantly like he’s about to give birth while simultaneously sporting the most ridiculous erection that Julian has ever seen in his life? And given Julian’s rather colorful past, that’s quite saying something there. Nurse Jabara had come in to see what all the commotion was after security had brought Garak in with a fantastic amount of stoicism. She’d taken one look at the scene, gave Julian a _look_ and merely said “well, I suppose I can see why you need those periodic days off now.”

Julian had never been more thankful in his life that he wasn’t predisposed to blushing or else he’d have turned a bright red, his face heating up with _that_ one. He then spent a good half hour keeping any spectators away because _someone somewhere_ couldn’t keep their mouth shut about the “Thirty Centy Cardie Sausage”. Julian has no idea who coined that phrase but he discovered it was futile trying to point out that while it was a rather impressive specimen it wasn’t anywhere near thirty centimeters. He _was_ still the chief medical officer and did still have _work_ to do. Garak had been in a great deal of discomfort when he came back to consciousness and Julian made sure they were quick to give him a shot with the hypospray after that. It didn’t help the swelling- going on three hours according to Garak’s account- but Garak assured him that he was blissfully free of the pain although he did express concern that he couldn’t feel anything.

“I’m not laughing,” Julian says, turning back around, the _soul_ of professionalism as he avoids looking anywhere near that sheet, thanking Jadzia over his COM as she finishes sending him the data that he’d requested. _Not anymore, at least._ Actually, at first Julian had been terrified when he saw Garak’s unconscious body being carried in. It followed once the security in his room had been triggered and they found him lying on the floor. That terror was quickly brought to heel by his deeply ingrained sense of professionalism as he set to work in his analysis and diagnosis having an odd suspicion as he did so. He’s spent the last year with Garak and Jadzia’s help working harder to research the nature of his odd secondary “enhancements” along with any leads on the nature of the race that his genes were modified from. He wasn’t surprised to learn that those cells were incredibly adaptable and uniquely able to mold and replicate vital portions of host DNA. That adaptability resulted in a fortunately seamless cosmetic integration which allowed for Julian’s completely human outward appearance.

It wasn’t until one started digging deeper into the nature of the cells and the genetic material that one could see an almost viral ability to replicate when certain conditions arose, and even over time the adaptation of certain organs and other reproductive changes. Said research resulted in him panicking for about a week when he feared that he’d end up altered to the point of being able to carry a child; he refused to let Garak so much as hold his hand. Needless to say, he was endlessly relieved to find that while said cells were incredibly resourceful- the embarrassing wetness that had increased during his cycles for example, was a slight alteration and increase of rectal mucous and thankfully wasn’t the result of an infection or other medical malady- they couldn’t create what just wasn’t there. But they were also oddly capable of “infecting” a host if present in enough volume and Julian did experience a great deal of guilt when he realized that the change in his and Garak’s relationship might result in a... change to Garak as well with enough of an exchange of genetic material.

Julian didn’t particularly think that Garak was taking the matter terribly seriously when he’d proposed an old barrier method of protection and Garak refused outright. Garak had said dismissively that he’d dealt with far worse than a few extraneous cells and that he’d already had an abundance of “insidious lizard DNA” so what was a little more? Julian couldn’t exactly get him to budge on the matter or even agree to any sort of periodic testing so instead he continued his research keeping as best a visual monitor as he could. After a year he’d started to grow complacent, thinking that perhaps Garak was right and he was simply overreacting. Sure, Garak may have grown a bit more irritable, a bit more possessive when his cycle approached but Julian just supposed that was normal given the shift in their relationship. He also noticed that Garak had gained an amazing amount of stamina, even compared with before and well if _that_ was going to be the result of a little microchimerism, then who was he to interfere with science? 

Alright, so as a doctor it was his responsibility to be monitoring these things more carefully, but he’s had a lot on his mind as he’s had to adjust his thinking, his idea on his own sexuality and person. It was one thing, after all, to let Garak take over, to simply go along with that heat when it arose, to surrender without thought. It’s entirely different to take charge, to reconcile the fact that h’s the one reaching over on the couch while they’re reading next to each other and put a hand on Garak’s thigh. It’s Julian who gives a squeeze, heart racing with anticipation, clears his throat- nervously at first- and asks if he might kiss him. Garak seems amused that Julian always asks. Even now Julian won’t do more than brush his hand, give a clasp of his shoulder, or some other subtle touch without asking first. Garak had let him know that Julian could consider his permission implicit but… but there’s just something about that ritual, about that asking “might I begin?” that allows him to turn the overthinking part of his brain off.

That’s to say nothing of the growing conflict with the Dominion either, the conflict with the Klingon Empire, nearly losing the station itself just to touch off. They’ve all been run ragged these last few months and so perhaps Julian’s research has been forced to the back burner but surely Garak won’t hold that against him?

“You are absolutely laughing,” Garak insists, petulantly holding out a hand for Julian to take. Julian does and gives a little squeeze of reassurance as he reads over the report. It doesn’t seem to be looking terribly promising.

“Perhaps just a little bit,” he admits and refrains from pointing out that Garak as well is partially to blame with such a cavalier attitude towards safe sex though Julian is hardly in a position to lecture _there_. Actually, now that he thinks about it the periodic cases that he sees in the infirmary coupled with this incident make him wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea to hold an important in service on the important of practicing safe and responsible intercourse.

 _Right, because Keiko’s school went over so brilliantly with the Bajoran conservatives let’s just go ahead and throw more accelerant on_ _that_ _particular fire._ Still, he makes a note to consult with Nurse Jabara in the upcoming days… No, scratch that, his cycle is fast approaching so it would be best if he added that to his calendar for two weeks from today instead. He’s fortunate that having finally acquired the Loperamide that he’s been able to ride out the worst of the symptoms with far more grace but Garak isn’t the only one who’s had some unfortunate sexual side effects from their relationship. In the past he was dulled to the point where he could ignore those stirrings as uncomfortable though they were and the physiological effects were nearly non existent. However he’s noticed a higher cell count distribution in certain ah… channels than ever before and the result has been well… All Julian can really say is that it’s probably a good thing that he didn’t actually try and “quit Garak cold turkey”. When apart, he can nearly function to normal levels (though he still gets plenty of push back on the pheromones in tighter quarters from everyone else) but when he’s around Garak…

Right on cue, he looks down and sees that his thumb is slowly circling Garak’s hand and now that it’s been brought back to his attention he can feel his pulse start to pick up a bit. Well, he supposes he ought to be thankful that their cycles are just about synced. Oh… Oh he did not just start lumping Garak in with him having these cycles now too. Garak is already reading the change in his expression far too shrewdly and he carefully pulls his hand back to allow Julian to fully focus on the issue at hand. 

“Far be it for me to question your bedside manner, my dear but I might advise not wearing bad news on your face so plainly.” Julian smiles in response though he’s sure it’s far too late.

“Bad news?” he asks and Garak just _sighs_ at him. “Right,” Julian concedes. “Though I wouldn’t say it’s bad merely… different.”

“While I would normally applaud your newfound attempts to be circumspect, I’d rather know what I’m dealing with, doctor.” 

 _Oh, we’re back to doctor now, well ouch there._ Julian makes another diversionary study of the PADD. There’s really only so long that he can drag this out. He’s already reread the words, seen the reports from the simulation models both he and Jadzia have run, hell he even found a way to contact Dr. Lense on the _Lexington_ to get a second opinion. Her recent work on mitochondrial disease was groundbreaking and her thoughts on the matter- though he may have had to fib a bit on the exact details of certain things- were key in filling in a lot of the blanks. But it really only came down to one conclusion and now that it’s graduated from possibility to certainty Julian is wishing he’d actually bothered to rehearse it. He clears his throat buying himself another few seconds.

“Julian,” Garak begins looking anything but amused. Julian takes a deep breath.

“Alright, well you remember the talk you and Jadzia had about microchimerism and the ah… ha… the impracticality of such a thing well… funny thing about impossibilities you know they say nothing is really _impossible_ per se, rather it’s a figure of speech and a… oh bollocks.” Julian runs fingers through his hair with a hard breath out. “So it would appear that my genetic material has unfortunately latched onto yours and created some irreversible side effects.” _Minus the benefit of enhanced reflexes and intellect but you know, funny thing, science._

Garak stares at him hard and Julian supposes that bit was rather obvious so he just plows right along headfirst. 

“Of course being that you’re Cardassian and not human the effects are quite different than mine. So I can _absolutely_ assure you that you won’t have the same er… heats manifesting in this um… need to be on the receiving end of ah… well you know of _that_ ,” Julian finishes lamely and again Garak isn’t looking terribly impressed by all of this. “Did you… have any questions so far?” Julian asks cautiously, taking an unconscious step back.

Garak is unusually quiet a moment, having stopped staring at Julian, instead looking down to the large tent still pushing the sheet comically skyward. If nothing else, Julian is sure that the numbing agent is still in effect or else Garak wouldn’t be nearly as calm as he is now.

“Continue, please,” is all he says in answer and Julian really doesn’t like that disconnected tone. He wonders if lover or not if there isn’t some Obsidian order protocol about to activate and cause Garak to murder everyone in the room. Well, everyone being him since all of the nurses had their fill of gawking and have since resumed their duties; he makes a note to have a little chat about that as well since Cardassian or not, Garak should be afforded the same dignity as their other patients. _Alright, Julian, Garak isn’t going to murder you. If he hasn’t already with everything that’s happened around here the last few years what’s a little…_ Julian completes a bit of a mental “gulp” at that. _…a little nonconsensual body modification._

“So,” Julian continues adopting his most solicitous and professional tone. “I’ll ask you to look at the screen here so I can show you a visual.” He brings up the scans showing Garak’s unfortunate malady from the inside out. “As you can see here at the base here there’s a significant amount of swelling or as we would use to describe the phenomenon in layman’s terms amongst relevant organisms, a “knot”…”

“A knot,” Garak repeats face like a storm cloud. Julian doesn’t even need to look to see that expression. It’s odd as Garak isn’t usually quite this prone to fits of outward anger and aggression but of course that’s a part of it as well. 

“Right and that’s where the discomfort is coming from. You know of course that the male Cardassian anatomy has the ah _ajan_ I believe you call it or this slit here where allows for eversion of the _prUt_ or what we would call the penis. The issue is that scales around the opening aren’t as flexible as human dermal tissue so it’s causing an unnatural stretching which is in turn causing pain. You can see the size of the knot is nearly one and a half times the circumference of the shaft.” Julian points somewhat stupidly since anyone looking can see it plainly. 

There’s another silence from Garak. Even with that silence, Julian can just _feel_ that aggression and anger pooling back to the surface though Garak is doing an admiral job so far of maintaining control. He’d hate to think of Garak truly out of control remembering too well that incident with his implant. 

“So we… we ah…” Julian soldiers on with a breath. “So we had to make a decision to stop the pain since you _were_ in a great deal of it,” Julian is sure to emphasize. “It wasn’t possible to consult with you and we can _absolutely_ reverse the procedure but we did have to perform surgery to enlarge the opening. There was already tearing and you have my word that the procedure was a success and should not in any way interfere with normal biological functions-”

“I would not call this a “normal biological function”, doctor,” Garak hisses at him from the bed, indicating his lap. That hiss makes Julian’s chest chill with a cool that he can only describe as nervous, as a slight tremor of fear. Julian isn’t sure why since fear is hardly a response that comes very readily to him; he’s had to feign it in a lot of cases or risk exposing himself and he’s always chalked it up to part of his enhancements.

He tamps it down, reminding himself that it’s just Garak beneath it all and he’s got every right to be angry. 

“Poor choice of words,” he mumbles. “And the procedure is completely reversible though I would advise again reversing it at this time as the main issue is still prevalent.” Honestly, Julian isn’t so sure that the microchimerism _can_ be reversed but he isn’t so quick to give up without even trying. His enhancements are a different case than Garak’s unfortunate cellular assimilation so he thinks possibly with Jadzia and Dr. Lense’s help there may be some sort of solution. “May” is the operative word here, but he’s not about to say that now. “I can only imagine how… difficult this is-”

“Do you, doctor? Do you really?” Garak snaps at him. “Or are you simply standing there feigning empathy while secretly enjoying the fact that after years of taking advantage of you that I’ve finally received my comeuppance?!” Julian feels that odd sensation again though he recognizes it’s not exactly “fear” but rather a… deference… a need to supplicate himself, to offer apologies and well that’s... different. So then it seems that now Julian’s also going to be affected by Garak’s emotional states? _Lovely,_ Julian thinks drily. 

“I think once you’re back in your right frame of mind,” Julian forces himself to answer coolly, “You’ll realize how ridiculous you sound. Shall I continue or would you rather sit there and stare a hole in my head?”

“I’d rather…” Garak stops himself, shaking his head with a pained hiss. “I’m sorry, my dear. I don’t know what’s come over me. There’s an unfortunate feeling come over me and I can’t quite place it.” Julian does give him a sympathetic look at that but remains careful not to touch him. He turns off the screen. 

“I understand, and for what it’s worth I truly am sorry. If I’d any idea that this would happen if we… if I ah… you… you know.” He still can’t properly say it which is ludicrous since he has the ‘sex talk” with his patience on a regular basis. He’s also glad that Garak hasn’t asked him why of all the numerous partners Julian’s had over the years outside of his cycles that there were no similar effects. Because then Julian would have to reiterate that Garak was the only one stupid enough not to want to use protection. 

“You were telling me the rest of this delightfully maudlin tale,” Garak prompts, face, neck looking slightly damp. Cardassians don’t tend to perspire the same as humans so Julian was mildly concerned at first but realizes when he observed the darkened ridges, the darker gray of Garak’s skin and the slightly blue tint to those little dips that it was merely another extension of cycle induced arousal. Now _that’s_ a good term for it for him and Garak both. It’s clean, clinical, and doesn’t force his partially dormant biology to think too hard on what it’s witnessing. 

“Yes, so you know how much I’ve been working on trying to find more information on the nature of my ah… biology and though I haven’t been able to devote a lot of study, I believe we’ve actually a fair idea of what’s gone on and what to expect.” 

He stops and Garak motions for him to continue. Julian is halfway across the room now and that brief bit of distance seems to have helped for the time being. Julian doesn’t anticipate that will hold the closer the apex of his cycle comes- they very well might need to be several rooms apart if they’re not. _Don’t_ _think about it._ He doesn’t dare.

“So the cells have reacted far different to your biology than min and it’s resulted in your changes reflecting the more dominant er… gender isn’t exactly an accurate term as I believed the host race to be intersexed. We’ve been using “designation” by default but that may change the more we discover for unknown Perseus race p38 as we refer to them in our studies. But in any case the changes to your body have been gradual believe it or not. There’s been an increase in aggression, an increase in drive, I’ve observed a definite increase in stamina and well as you can see, the result is what we’ve estimated is a climactic period lasting several hours and ah…” 

Okay, clinical detachment is definitely faltering here. “There’s a significant increase in the production of semen as well. There’s a condom catheter collecting it now,” Julian says, feeling a bit of a flush to his face even if his face doesn’t reflect it terribly strongly. Garak looks as if he might dare a peek but then drops his hand back down. Julian doesn’t blame him. “There was quite a bit you see,” He can’t help it. He thinks about it. He doesn’t know why he thinks about it, but he does and he told himself he wasn’t going to but there it is after all these hours of detached professional work, he takes one damn look at Garak as he’s speaking and he can just imagine that thick knot locking into his body, trapping him, Garak spilling into him over and over and… _Oh no… no no no…_  

Julian can feel tightness in his jaw and a slow heat start to pool in his belly and he breathes out slowly. He’s usually fairly regular but there have been… incidents which have triggered certain processes early so he would do well to keep himself under control. 

“So… so we’ve estimated that it will continue in ah…” he coughs. “…in spurts until the swelling subsides and your erection fades which should be any moment now. It won’t… It won’t hurt once the feeling returns because of the procedure. We were able to heal every up quite efficiently. As for the next time it occurs-” Which he doesn’t have to say will surely be sooner rather than later with him about to- he really doesn’t want to say go into heat but as long as it’s been, it would be rather foolhardy to not just call it for what it is. 

“The next time it occurs it will likely feel… intense but not unpleasant.” He doesn’t imagine that to be much consolation and Garak is once again silent and thoughtful. Julian doesn’t need to explain that it’s always going to be like this until such time they’re able to reverse it. That’s fairly obvious.

“I see,” is all Garak says at last. His tone is deceptively calm and measured. 

“Did you have any questions? I’ll do as best as I can to answer them but honestly a lot of this has been a discovery process for me too. I’ve only ever been on the other end of all this so… um… can’t say as to which I’d prefer to be honest but I swear we’re going to get to working on this as soon as possible.”

“Will that be before or after you throw yourself across my shop table at me with your hindquarters in the air and your tail wagging?” Garak asks glibly with just a bit of a waspish hint.

“I’m not an _animal_ , Garak!” Julian snaps back angrily. Garak is always so good at knowing what pushes his buttons and Julian still falls for it every time.

“Forgive me, _doctor_ ,” and now they’re back to “doctor” once more. “I may have been confused since the biological processes you’ve described are more akin to a _riding hound_ than to a sentiment Cardassian male!” 

Julian doesn’t flinch at the raised tone. That’s not what it is at all. He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t cower in fear of that tone, but his body stops. He can feel himself entering some hyperawareness of Garak’s emotional state, needing to determine what will calm him down. _Well this is certainly going to be fun. Simon says “stop”. Simon says stare stupidly at your lover. Ah Simon didn’t say so, pity._ Julian can see where Garak might mistake it for fear though. One doesn’t spend such a large portion of their life as an infamous sadistic interrogator without knowing that recoil and that sense of unease. Truth be told, at the moment it’s far better to have Garak think that’s what it is because it immediately makes him stop and calm down.

“Julian?” he asks concerned. Garak is well aware that Julian has, as he says at times “more guts than brains”, and he must recognize how unusual a reaction it is. But more than that, it would seem that Garak is also immediately hyperaware of him as well in nearly the same manner. In fact Julian almost thinks there’s some… scent that he can almost... he sticks his tongue out subtly, Garak’s eyes still catch the motion, showing a curious flicker. Yes, there’s something there. Garak is aware of it too, tongue a mimic, and after a moment and it leaves the both of them staring at each other long and hard. 

“Well,” Julian starts neutrally. “This is new.” _Understatement of the century, Julian._ He wants to take a step closer but the risk of setting something off is far too real. He does anyway. “You’re upset,” Julian offers cautiously, holding up a hand when the snippy rejoinder is ready on Garak’s tongue. “I mean you smell upset, you _taste_ upset. Do you-”

“Yes,” Garak croaks out looking something akin to shellshocked.

“I... do you want me to stay here with you or do you need some time to process... everything?” _Julian_ sure as hell needs time. He thought that he’d gotten a handle on everything, he thought he finally understood everything his body was going to do to him since meeting Garak but this level of intimacy is scaring the hell out of him right now and-

“Julian,” Garak says with a wince and Julian realizes that emotion is somehow manifesting in a fresh wave right to Garak’s senses. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that I was doing that.” He sees Garak wave him over and he goes to him, letting himself be pulled to Garak’s chest. That feels nice. It feels safe. It’s actually a relief to be close to Garak just for comfort like this. “Thank you,” he whispers, “but I’m the doctor here, I should be the one putting _you_ at ease.”

“You do,” Garak assures him and it’s likely a lie but it’s a nice lie. “I have every confidence in your abilities, Julian,” Garak says moving Julian’s arms from his sides so that he’s embracing him back, before Julian can ask if it’s alright. Julian holds him tightly, thankful that at least for now there’s nothing being triggered beyond a deep sense of contentment and along with that, a wonder that such a feeling should have come about in such a strange manner. Perhaps this is the missing part of the equation all along. God, this is far too much for him to process. Julian shuts his eyes, inhaling Garak’s scent deeply. He isn’t sure how long the two of them remain like that although they aren’t interrupted for any of his later appointments so he doesn’t imagine it’s that long. 

And then he hears Garak suck in a sharp breath, causing him to lift his head and see the brilliant blue of his _chufa_ Well, it was long enough for the feeling to start to return to his lower half at least. A wry smile crosses his face at that.

“Well, I’m glad that one of us does.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an Incident in the Replimat Julian meets with Captain Sisko and receives some surprising news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So nothing too spectacular here except a few brief notes. First, it's a bit of an early time for Captain Sisko to be scouting that bit of land but I'm claiming artistic license on that. 
> 
> The other more important one is just speaking to the "breeding kink" tag. The tag is there for language/metaphor/roleplay-ish stuff and hyperbolic talk during sex. In subsequent chapters it'll be a bigger factor than here but I just wanted to provide clarification so that people who like Mpreg don't get their hopes up and people who don't like it don't bail. I personally don't care for reading/writing Mpreg so while references in the abstract do weirdly excite me that is the extent of it for the story. Cool if you like it, jut not my thing. That being said, enjoy and thank you!

“It’s a big step,” Captain Sisko says with a hint of amusement in his voice as he parrots the words from their conversation a few nights ago. Julian fidgets on the seat in front of his desk somewhat uneasily. He hasn’t quite been able to look at Captain Sisko more than once when he greeted him. He’s decided that the baseball, the desk, anything else would really do much better. Julian is certain that Odo _must_ have mentioned The Incident (Yes in capital letters) in the Replimat yesterday. As big a scene as it had caused there’s no way he _hadn’t_ included it in his daily write up. Perhaps Captain Sisko has been busy? Well Julian doesn’t quite see how with Kassidy Yates having left the station already. _Right Julian, because he has nothing else going on but his relationship- it’s not like he has a station to run or anything._

“Yes, ah… Garak and I thought it might be best if our living arrangements were a bit more compatible with my…” Julian trails off not knowing how even after all this time he still can’t say it that comfortably in front of the Captain. _Oh, admit it, Julian, it feels like the old sex talk all over again with your father._ Perhaps not quite the same since Richard Bashir’s awkward attempts to make jokes about his being caught out behind the bleachers during his last year of college rather made Julian want to die and take the insensitive old windbag with him. Julian sighs. _For god’s sake, Julian, you and Jadzia were just out with him in Quark’s talking about his relationship with Kassidy. Surely you can just come out and say it._  

“Sorry, this has always been an awful embarrassment and I… I’ve never tried to actually _talk_ about it like this in any real detail with anyone before because ah… well it’s the nature of it and how it all came about and it’s all my father’s fault and I don’t care how well-meaning he comes off at our family reunions, fine, no, he’s not Uncle Joe. He didn’t walk out for a pint and not come back for ten years like nothing happened but you know what, I’d rather have ruddy Uncle Joe for a father!” He stops at that realizing how odd the non sequitur must sound but well there it is.

And there it goes like a damn once Julian gets started. 

“Fine, boohoo on Alastair and that lot not having their old man for ten years. You know they all did just fine for themselves. Alastair captains a freighter, fine well Paddy is off in the jungle somewhere with the natives, I don’t _care_ that they nicked Paddy again for some “miscarriage of justice” or that the “bizzies got a fucking hard on for him. Right, Sasha ran off with that bloke and his wife and he’s a Frenchman and she thinks she’s French now and talks with that awful affected accent still don’t care. And you know Aunt Emmeline wants to whinge about Robert getting in on Paddy’s football hooliganism still nope, not a care, not a one because at least they’re bloody _normal!”_

By the end of it all, Julian realizes that he’s been pacing around Captain Sisko’s office like a madman, arms waving. He’s breathing hard when he looks at Captain Sisko feeling completely mortified. 

“Please tell me this is off the record,” Julian pleads thinking he might just start sobbing like his Great Aunt Agatha does every Christmas when she sends him some drunken holiday cry fest about her cats and her dead sister and calls him and his cousins all “kitty”. 

“It is if it needs to be, doctor,” Captain Sisko answers with far more understanding than Julian is sure he deserves with all the mess that he’s caused for him over the years.

Then, Captain Sisko puts a comforting arm around his shoulder and Julian wishes that he hadn’t done that. He really does. Because the next thing he knows he’s spilling _everything_ from the very beginning from his troubles with understanding things as a child to Adigeon Prime to the Academy to his being assigned here to his miserable old man sending him birthday cards that he knows he doesn’t like and refusing to call Garak anything other than “that old lizard fellow still following you around?”. He’s sure he barely takes a breath in any of that. He’s sure he’s just tanked his entire career. He’s sure that he’s going to end up having to go aboard Alastair’s ship patching that group of rowdies up after another stupid bar brawl near Farius Prime and looking over his shoulder for the Syndicate at every family get together.

Julian is still wondering just how the hell he just threw his entire life down the drain so easily because of a little human kindness as Captain Sisko remains eerily quiet following a simple “I see.” They say that once a person releases a secret- that once they know that they no longer have to hide that there’s a feeling of freedom from burden that makes them lighter. Julian doesn’t feel lighter. He feels like he’s about to sink into the floor and die. He’s half seated on Captain Sisko’s desk staring woodenly ahead with the Captain’s arm still around him. He thinks he’s going to be sick. Honest to god sick. He also thinks that this must be how it feels to have a father who’s not a self-involved half abusive sonofabitch and Jake has no idea how lucky of a kid he is and Julian is going to tell him before they drag him out to face a court marshall.

Captain Sisko still hasn’t said anything and Julian is the first to crack there. Because of course he is.

“I’ll…” he swallows hard. I’ll be sure to tender my resignation in the morning, Captain,” Julian half whispers to the floor. _This is how it ends then, Julian. Not with a bang but a whimper. Perhaps you and Garak can migrate to one of the colonies before the trial. You don’t_ _have_ _to get on board with Alastair, Garak has a job, he can sew, you can sew sort of even if you have the fashion sense of a color blind Breen. Right, traipse through the demilitarized zone with a little sticker on the runabaout that says “Just Married.” No, not married, just fucking, thanks for asking._

“Well, that’s a bit of a strong negotiating tactic for a simple reassignment of quarters,” Captain Sisko says at last with a deep sigh, looking ahead. Julian blinks about to ask him if he’d heard a word that Julian had said but he knows that he had. He knows that he had and he cannot imagine that- “I’m sorry, doctor,” Captain Sisko says. “But you know I have a lot on my mind so I’m afraid I may have missed some of your talk about your… Uncle Joe was it?” Captain Sisko looks at him carefully. Julian cannot believe that he’s hearing this but… but it’s almost too much for him to process.

Julian nods dumbly. He makes a few false starts, clearing his throat, realizing that his voice is a bit raw. 

“Yes ah… went out for a pint and never came back. We’re not really sure where he was but um… Thank you, sir,” Julian says not trusting his voice to stay steady for more than that. 

“You know, when I read your report on the rogue Jem’Hadar, it struck me.”

“Sir?”

“I wondered how could a man, even a doctor, be so dedicated to saving the lives of his enemy? I was concerned at how that situation was handled, not because I don’t believe in compassion; I know how seriously you take your oaths, doctor, but a Starfleet officer also has to be able to be trusted with the lives of his subordinates.” Julian remembers. He and Miles still haven’t spoken about it and the tension between them is still uncomfortable. If it was just him it would have been different. If he only had himself to think about it would have been a different matter and he understands that now. It was dangerous and reckless and- “I understand now why you had felt for them the ay you had,” Captain Sisko continues before Julian can say anything further. “It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t _ask_ to be given that life. They didn’t _ask_ to be created that way, have those experiments done to them. I understand- better now than before.”

“But still I... I should know better. That’s first year training at the Academy… the experiences, the baggage that we all bring and how we need to be able to set that aside. I should know better than that I just-”

“You’re only human, doctor. You’re not a machine. Sometimes you’ll fail. Sometimes you need to let yourself rest. And I think after what happened- not just in the Replimat,” Julian winces at that “-but on your trip with Chief O’Brien as well that you and Mr. Garak might benefit from a little shore leave.” Julian blinks. A vacation? Is he _insane_? Right now when Julian is teetering on the brink of going into- _alright heat, happy, going into heat-_ not even knowing what the hell is going to happen this time with Garak… _But if you’re off station, especially if you’re somewhere quiet it might be best after all._ But where would they even go? The only place that nearby is Bajor and he cannot possibly imagine Garak even remotely agreeing to such a thing. 

“As a matter of fact you’d actually be doing me a favor,” Captain Sisko continues thoughtfully. “I hear that the land around the Yolja River is quite stunning and I’ve started to think about oh, I don’t know the future, things like that and it occurs to me that you and Mr. Garak might take a look at a bit of land that I’ve been considering for  building a house.” Land; then there wouldn’t be anyone around, just an unoccupied space, him and Garak and… Julian blinks. It’s… honestly far more than he thinks he deserves and beyond anything he ever would have dreamed of asking for himself. He swallows hard feeling almost dizzy from the shock.

“And are there any particular parameters for this ah… unofficial mission, sir?” Julian asks cautiously, not sure if there’s going to come a point where he wakes up and realizes that he dreamed this entire unbelievable scene. Captain Sisko shakes his head as he smiles, walking back around to his desk.

“Just be sure to take plenty of pictures, doctor.” Julian nods up down, his eyes wide, still half stammering, still completely overwhelmed.

“Y-yes, sir. Of course! Absolutely, you can count on me! Pictures, lots of them, I’ll learn to paint if you want me to I… thank you,” he says more softly, reigning himself in, clearing his throat blinking back a mist over his eyes. Captain Sisko nods.

“You’re welcome, Julian. Take care of yourself.”

* * *

 

Julian couldn’t be more relieved by the reprieve. For a myriad of reasons not the least of which includes the fact that hopefully by the time he and Garak get back everyone will have forgotten about The Incident and they’ll long be onto the latest round of gossip. Maybe he’ll get lucky and something will blow up. _Alright, Julian, that’s just a bit much to wish for… Well, maybe just a little something, no injuries, just enough to get them talking about it._ It also doesn’t help that his hearing is more sensitive than the average human and annoyingly attuned to mentions of his name or in this case “that poor boy and that awful creature.” Julian rather wishes he was a Cardassian right about now because Garak is surely used to a bunch of stares and whispers that he can hardly hear. Alright, that’s a touch uncharitable but he’s been so terribly _anxious_ since yesterday. 

It was bad enough a few days prior there was nearly some other near miss when he passed by Dukat on a stopover after that trip with Major Kira and had an impromptu coughing fit while trying to manage some sort of awkward polite greeting. He’s so glad that Dukat is gone or else that might have managed to somehow be even _worse_ than it was. _Right, Julian, I’m sure Ziw Tralar will be so relieved to hear that it could’ve been worse if he ever talks to you again._ Well that’s not entirely fair, Julian is sure that Ziw will talk to _him_ again if for no other reason than to give another stupid sales pitch about the samples so he can run off to peddle junk on that rickety old caravan called “The Intergalactic Trade”. Now _Garak_ on the other hand… Julian sighs as he approaches the shuttered storefront of Garak’s shop. 

Ziw and Garak have had frosty relations at the best of times; Garak objecting to what he calls Ziw and Julian’s constant “flirting”. By constant flirting he means the fact that the two men seem incapable of agreeing on even the simplest of things and in his more dramatic moments he’s declared that Julian just ought to just bed the man and get it over with. It hardly seemed to matter that Julian had informed him on numerous occasions that even if Bolians were a compatible species and weren’t sent dry heaving by his “irresistible musk” that he’s still straight and outside of Garak still has no attraction to men. Well, that little fact went right out the window with Garak being consumed by his own heat and needless to say, Forbin Project is closed too. 

Forbin Project- “The”, Julian always corrects pedantically in his head- is the Bolian Ziw Tralar’s pet project bookstore, music shop, and outlet for other rare vintage collectibles. Ziw didn’t seem to realize at first that the definite article was required for the name to quite make sense. By the time Julian was the “millionth helpful asshole” to point it out to him, he’d defiantly decided to stick to his guns on the name. The discussion that had resulted about artistic usage when Julian had first mentioned it was memorable. He’d asked Ziw why such an odd name (outside of the lack of grammatical correctness) and Ziw had pointed out that the name coupled with the mysterious black curtain drew in its fair share of curiosity seekers; Julian really couldn’t argue the point.

 Julian was surprised to see such an oddity out this far in the Alpha Quadrant thinking that things like that tended to appeal more to a certain clientele interested in nostalgia. Oddly, Julian has seen a wide variety of patrons dipping in and out more often than not with a few fascinating new treasures or in some instances looking to find some undiscovered gold mine in a dusty corner. Julian had thought that Quark was going to have an aneurysm when he happened across a vintage 23rd century tooth sharpener that had a gilvo skin case before their use was outlawed. Funnily enough it was Quark who’d inadvertently touched off the conversation in the Replimat which had started The Incident int he first place. Oh who’s he kidding in calling it an incident? It was a fucking complete disaster…

 

_“All I’m saying is you gotta use what you got, doctor. Like like now if_ _I_ _had a magical cure for you know…” Ziw made a vague gesture with his finger up and down that left Julian blinking in confusion “…that dreaded male affliction,” he clarified with an eerie wave of his hands. Oh. That. Julian sighed and had sipped at his tea a bit more._

_“You realize how absolutely ludicrous that sounds don’t you? You know that… that there are absolutely zero studies backing up any of what you’re saying,” Julian found himself stammering hotly. He’d thought Ziw had to be joking when he’d slid into Garak’s promised empty seat in the Replimat and started talking about a “business proposition”. Said business proposition involved using Julian’s spent seed as an impotence cure and aphrodisiac in some sort of powdered form and Julian had nearly choked on his tea. He had hoped Ziw was kidding but it seemed the capricious gods of the wormhole and his life weren’t quite so merciful. Ziw just sighed and gave him a look._

_“Do my customers look like they’re interested in scientifically vetted merch’? Look look, you wanna place blame, take it up with Quark you know he turned me onto this here. Said there’s a lot of profit to be made once you get into the ex-ee-ess talk and I thought about it yeah yeah so he’s right. Tossed the idea out to a few guys- no names, swear it on my mother’s grave-”_

_“You don’t have a mother.” If Julian remembered correctly he had three fathers and a sister._

_“Alright, pick a dad then,” Ziw challenged and this was really getting nowhere fast…_

_“I thought you and Quark were on the outs again after that shipment of novels fell through.” Julian tried switching his approach there._

_“Right right, we might’ve had some differences. You know those Ferengi courtesan novels don’t come cheap big advance and all that whatever he’s a businessman… lobes whatever he’s got, I’m a businessman too you know.” Julian raised an eyebrow._

_“Businessman? You just told me last week that you sold a “priceless antique Iotian derringer” for half a box of old baseball cards.” Which actually reminded Julian that he needed to check with Alastair on the case of chewing gum he’d been promised on one of their runs to Earth; that box of cards might be a nice gift for Captain Sisko one day when he needed to curry a little favor…_

_“Oh you think that’s all it was? Wrong wrong, see you don’t understand, doctor. Those old cards got the gum. So if you know how to reconstitute it- which yours truly does- you got yourself the best bubble gum ever made. We’re talking primo circa nineteen sixty. That’s 20th century Earth but hey… I’m turning over a new leaf here so you know what, say I drop off a few tubes for the samples and-”_

_“And you can just forget it! If you think for one moment that I would even_ _consider_ _something so… Garak? God Garak what are you doing?!” Julian didn’t know how he had missed Garak. Julian had been waiting for him to join for lunch after all but Garak had materialized out of seemingly nowhere with a hand to the back of Ziw’s collar, lifting the squirming Bolian several inches out of his seat before Ziw managed to finish standing up on his own with a strangled protest, grabbing at Garak’s hands._

_“I’m sorry,” Garak said not sounding the least bit sorry, as he half tossed him aside, Ziw staggering a few steps looking at Garak like he’d lost his mind. “I seem to be late for lunch, doctor, though it would appear that you’re not lacking for company.” He did look the part of a madman, disheveled, pulse elevated loudly enough that Julian could hear it and with a brief flick of scenting, tasting, angerjealousylust all at once slammed into him like a cloud of gas, hazy, overpowering him._

_No, not a madman, a wild animal stalking around the table, Julian standing as he did an apology already on his lips; he almost physically slapped that thought out of his head because if anyone ought to be apologizing it ought to be Garak. “Am I interrupting something Julian?” Garak asked backing him up against one of the second floor columns with a few imposing steps, the fronds of the fern tickling at Julian’s neck. He swallowed down that annoying instinct to be supplicant instead looking back hard because this was setting a bad precedent already and… and he… he…_

_He could already feel his body start to respond to that show of aggression in an even more unwelcome way and those thoughts were roaring to the forefront, that heat starting everything, his uniform feeling so constricting and… and it was better to go along but this was a place where he_ _could_ _go along. Ziw was thankfully alright, adjusting his collar and wrinkling his nose at that smell momentarily and they… they really needed to get out of there before this escalated._

_“God you ridiculous jealous lizard I…” Garak was already crowding him, dizzying in his presence and scent worse than ever before. “Such a stupid question I… I…”He heard a few grumbles a few chairs sliding as that musk spread like some incorporeal thing with a mind of its own. “We… can’t… Garak…”Under different circumstances it would be comical that Julian of the two of them was keeping his head the best in the midst of a growing heat but given that Julian had a lifetime of dealing with this nonsense and Garak had a few weeks at best-_

_“Are you presuming to tell me what to do with my little human bitch?” Garak breathed and it was far darker than he’d usually speak to him in or out of those cycles. Julian would have found it insulting if he wasn’t… ‘Godyesneedyouneedyou…’ yeah that. Julian wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and surrender to the thick, heavy body pressing against him, spread his legs and let Garak’s… Oh… oh Garak couldn’t possibly be everted already but Julian could feel it through the fabric of his trousers, undergarments, large heavy girth just a few layers away and what could it hurt, they could manage just a little… just a little just the tip before Odo probably appeared and ordered them moved to their rooms by transporter. And Julian had a strange irrational memory of his father wagging a finger in his face explaining that it was never just the tip and why the hell was he thinking of his father now?!_

_It was odd, because the horrified conflation of Richard Bashir’s voice in his head and Garak’s presence brought Julian’s mind out of that fog just long enough to notice that for some stupid reason Ziw was still waving at him, motioning, mouthing something that looked like he was still trying to get Julian to agree to… save him some of the leftovers?! Julian blinked at him incredulously as he watched him reach into his messenger bag and pull out a few vials- Oh God Julian was going to kill him if Garak- didn’t and Ziw was still rattling off with a supplicant motion of his hands about the largest flea market in the alpha quadrant and how he needed just a few more credits for a booth and Julian was shaking his head wildly, trying to shoo him away like an errant and especially determined pigeon when Garak’s head snapped around so quickly Julian thought he rather resembled something out of an old Earth film._

_‘Well that explains his desperation to earn more credits’ Julian thought, feeling as if he was having an out of body experience, watching Garak growling at Ziw like he was about to sprout fangs and start howling at the moon while Ziw was_ _still_ _trying to get Julian to agree to leave him a few samples. ‘How have Bolians survived so long?’ Julian wondered as Ziw was trying to wave Garak off the both of them dancing around the table like something out of an old cartoon until Garak finally turned the entire thing over causing Julian to finally unstick himself from the pillar and try to separate them._

_Julian had to admit he was impressed that Ziw actually halfway knew how to defend himself against a murderous Cardassian in the throes of some crazed Alpha male frenzy. Not that Julian didn’t help that defense effort being half worn by Garak like a backpack. The entire scene quickly disintegrated into Garak both trying to crawl across the floor after Ziw while trying to undress Julian as the Bolian slid back kicking at him having lost a shoe in the entire mess- hitting one of Miles’ subordinates clear in the face in the process- one half of the Replimat clearing out and the other half watching and hooting like spectators to some ancient mating dance._

_That was about when security had come in and broken the entire thing up much to Julian’s relief though at the time he may have snapped at Odo as well but…_

 

Julian stops in front of Garak’s Clothiers with a sigh. The store may say closed but he knows that Garak is in there, likely in the back. Garak has been in hiding since The Incident, refusing to come within six meters of Julian for fear of triggering another wave of “shameful behavior”- which made it all the more annoying having to communicate his plans for their trip through Jadzia. Julian shifts a bit anxiously from one foot to another. Garak was amenable, or rather he was in _agreement_ that since Julian’s _curse_ was now irreparably intertwined with his own _normal_ Cardassian biology (thanks for that, Garak, love you too) that he might as well find something better to do with his time than hide in his stockroom for fear of having a go at one of his customers. Julian thinks he’s being terribly dramatic about the whole thing as _he’s_ had to spend his entire adult life dealing with this nonsense not merely a few weeks and asked him if he was planning on donning a mask and relocating to the lower docking pylons and taking up playing the organ.

Garak didn’t understand the reference as Jadzia had reported back- though it was more a joke for her benefit than his. She thought it was funny in any case and after letting Julian know that Garak would be ready to leave the following morning, Julian decided that he was just going to see him because having Jadzia running back and forth between the Infirmary and Garak’s shop for that few dozen meters was ridiculous. Thankfully it was slow and he’d already transitioned most of his regular tasks and appointments. He’d been about to take another dose of his medicine but stared at the pills uncertainly. While he’d been able to make some adaptations and create a formulation slightly more effective, The Incident yesterday had made him realize that his body was still undergoing its own adaptations and it might be unwise to try and mess with it now. Julian frowns. Well at least he’ll be off in a nice secluded batch of forest in case he goes all wild.

“Garak?” He calls out stupidly, not even sure if he’ll be heard. Of course he can access the store using his medical override if he needs to but it would be an invasive and unnecessary use of that power for a non-emergency and… And there’s a brief opening- likely Garak thinking that Jadzia has returned- which Julian takes advantage of before Garak can realize that it’s him. He licks his lips, tasting for Garak subtly. He’s not sure if he’ll ever get used to that ability and there’s… oh that’s so nice. As stressful as the last few days have been, he’s found that things have been a bit off much like they were during Finals at the Academy. 

He’d never been so thankful in his life for a stress level so off the charts that his cycle nearly skipped entirely. A few of his classmates had voiced similar problems though they were for the most part cis human females so that was a bit of an unusual kinship there even though he could hardly share it. That ended the moment Palis suggested as a joke that he might be in the family way and he nearly went into a panic attack trying to determine how he could tell.

“Garak?!” Julian calls again, louder this time when he doesn’t hear a response. Of course he can hear Garak’s presence even on the sales floor. Julian’s sensitive hearing picks up the heavy breathing and… Oh. _Heavy breathing, scent, musk, dense air humid not just from the temperature controls and he’s really going to be bent out of shape if the silks get ruined but… Oh… oh this was a terrible idea…_ Julian scents him _badly_ as he nears the curtain to the back room hand stilling at the edge of it.

“Don’t come in!” He hears slightly muffled and strained. Julian has a wild mental image of Garak calling out like the phantom _“Look! You want to see? See! Feast your eyes, glut your soul on my cursed ugliness!”_ It nearly makes him burst out laughing at how ludicrous it is except… except laughing isn’t the first response his body is having right now. 

Dukat’s proximity the other day had nearly completed sending him into his heat and wasn’t Garak just _thrilled_ to pieces about that? Julian thinks there may have been some correlation in that heightened possessiveness triggered by Dukat’s presence and Garak’s nearly taking Ziw’s head off [literally] during their altercation. _Well this is… different. Nice_ , his mind supplies. Very nice to scent, to taste Garak’s own powerful heat- earthy like those unpronounceable root vegetables they throw into the Sem’hal Stew at Quark’s. Well, is certainly makes Julian hungry though a hunger of a much different sort as he automatically pulls the fabric barrier aside in response to another entreaty to “refrain from opening the Guls’ damned curtain.” “Open the curtain,” that’s what Julian heard- he’ll swear it on his oath as a doctor. And really, it’s hardly the Lovecraftian horror that Garak seemed to be trying to set an atmosphere for.

Admittedly, the smell might be an issue for the other station inhabitants but as it hits him all Julian can think is oh lord, YES. He takes a step hand stopped to rest on the doorway, seeing Garak standing at the workbench bent over it breathing heavily. The doctor in him worries and he’s glad that he thought to take his tricorder. Now if he could just stop staring at Garak, his own heart pounding, his own body starting to react to the heat and actually do his job that would be quite lovely.

“Are you… are you alright?” He asks realizing how completely inane of a question that is. “I mean... your body… your health… I… I can run a quick scan.” Oh he’s scanning, his eyes are already scanning and it’s practically scandalous seeing the pulled over closure of Garak’s shirt undone, so much of that strong neck, collar ridges bare. Julian wants to put his mouth on those ridges and bite the way that Garak loves and beg Garak to throw him on that table and… _Crap._

Jadzia had postulated that Garak’s newfound biological changes might result in more radical changes in Julian as well. Especially once he told her what had happened in the infirmary between the two of them reacting so strongly to each other’s feelings. They had been trying to maintain a discreet distance since then at least until Julian’s heat actually hit. It was frustrating to say the least and in hindsight perhaps more than a little stupid given the emotional strain with all the uncertainty. So perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that The Incident in the Replimat had forced everything to a head. Julian of course knows better than to even begin to say that to Garak and as he scents his distress layered throughout that heat, he’s already reacting in sympathy, frowning, and rushing over.

“Julian… don’t…” is ignored, Julian already hugging him tightly from the side, turning his head awkwardly and rubbing his face over Garak’s cheek.

There’s a certain tension that slips from Garak’s shoulders when he does that, a relief that’s palpable. He’s really ridiculously pleased that he can comfort Garak so easily like this. 

“Do I need to run a scan?” Julian asks, absently pressing small kisses trailing over the hard ridges of Garak’s neck. They’re dark, swollen, and more sensitive than usual. He sees the pleased shiver of Garak’s shoulders in response. Julian tries to remind himself that he’s going for comfort not seduction. That lasts a few more seconds before Garak whispers a soft “no” and forces himself to stand up straight. Garak looks particularly resigned as he stares ahead to the table trying not to look at him. Julian can see the half-finished sketches and trouser hems half completed. 

“I’ve had to return several commissioned pieces,” Garak says. “I haven’t been able to open the shop in three days. I’m almost certain that vapid she dragon on the first floor is going to snatch up half of my clients with her unimaginative _costumes_ and second rate sewing… And yet in spite of all that, do you know what the only thing that I’ve been able to think about is?” Julian is certain that’s a rhetorical question so he refrains from answering. His arms drop so that he’s just holding Garak’s hand, waiting for him to continue. Of course Julian already knows the answer to that question; it’s pretty much the summation of his own cycles. He lets Garak finish the thought, knowing, anticipating, his toes curling, wanting to hear it, wanting it so badly. He knows he ought to leave. This wouldn’t be the first time that Garak’s presence has triggered him into an early heat and he was convinced that it was going to happen after The Incident in the Replimat but-

“All I’ve been able to think about since that… unfortunate happenstance is how Guls damned badly I need to have you. Shall I tell you how base my thoughts have turned? Shall I regale you with all the filthy ways I’ve imagined of desecrating that body of yours?”

“Oh I…” Julian shuts his eyes a moment trying to remain calm, keep the mood light. “I can’t imagine you’ve thought of anything we haven’t already done.” He was going for lighthearted. It comes out as half panted, already imagining a flash of images behind his eyes of exactly the many brilliant ways that Garak has had him, has marked him, has claimed him, finding that he can’t particularly think of any they haven’t-”

“Stop,” Garak half pleads with him and Julian opens his eyes back up when Garak turns to face him. He sees that those ridges are swollen, dark, those eyes slit a serpent about to strike, that color of his iris overtaking a large part of his eye, pupil elongated and slit narrow like a cat, like a snake’s and Julian stares hypnotized, Garak turning, taking his other hand holding them both. Distress is rapidly bleeding away to heat, Julian gripped by it hard when Garak guides Julian’s hands behind his back, the distance between their bodies closing at he does. 

“You’re close,” Garak breathes, mouth moving Over Julian’s neck more tasting that teasing, a few sucks to his skin as he does. The ridges of his chin tickle Julian’s trapezius as Garak’s teeth graze the sensitive spot right behind his ear and his toes curl, leg starting to shake as he pushes forward against Garak mouth pursed, trying so hard not to start moaning. “You’re so close to being ready for me aren’t you?” Garak breathes against the back of his ear with a nip to the shell, drawing in the lobe, sucking, small bites making Julian squirm.

“Yes… god yes…” he pokes his tongue out. “Aren’t you?” he asks knowing that only in this heat can he draw attention to a fact that Garak has been trying quite doggedly to avoid speaking on since his trip to the infirmary. But there’s no denying it. It’s changed. Julian’s changed. “Aren’t you imagining how it will feel to put. It. All. In me?” He punctuates those last few words, a stuttered sound of a tricorder read as Garak releases Julian’s hands behind his back to slide his big, broad palms down the small of Julian’s back to the slight curve of his ass.

“Yessss… Guls yess…”

“That…” Julian licks his lips a bit anxiously but says it anyway. “That extra little bit,” he says and continues when Garak shivers nicely against him. “That knot… holding me stuck to your spasming _prUt_ as you release into me…”

“Julian,” Garak hushes, voice dropping, hands squeezing hard, kneading at his ass like he could rip the sturdy stitching of the uniform clear off. Julian rather hopes that he does. He needs it. He can feel that heat swirling, low in the bit of his stomach, his cock hard, so hard but it’s getting beyond that. Julian keeps his hands where Garak left them and presses against him more insistently. 

“I… I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it too… You know I don’t… that I don’t often think about those things… when I’m alone but I have been…”

“Julian,” Garak groans almost miserably nearly lifting him off his feet the two of them doing an awkwardly coordinated shuffle of feet until the small of Julian’s back bangs the work desk. He really wants Garak to bend him over it, that usual reticence gone somewhere small and distant. He can feel that adrenaline, like a shot, that heat started to make the rest of him sweat hot, near feverish and he can feel the wetness start to rub out of the tip of his prick from that anticipation. 

But that’s not the only anticipation because right then he starts to feel the telltale signal- or what’s become the signal as he never had that sort of warning before- that it was coming on like a waterfall. No, it doesn’t start as a gush, it starts with a faint cramping that had terrified him at first but then it had stopped and he could feel the wetness, feel that damp and it was mortifying. He’d been afraid that there was something wrong with him until he determined no, it was just more of that fluid, more of that slick seeping out. “Yess…” a taste, hands on the zipper at the back of his uniform stopping, starting, Garak swearing under his breath because he’s unused to being so out of control. 

Garak had said some months back that he found it exciting that Julian was so ready for him. Julian… couldn’t deny that- merely thankful that Starfleet had a wide variety of absorbent undergarment styles so he didn’t embarrass himself. Miles had actually commented on him trying to look sporty the one time they’d been changing before playing racquetball. Julian couldn’t help but laugh at that. Right, adapt, adjust, accept… yadda yadda, something else from his father or that one may have been from his Uncle Joe before he pushed him in the pool to learn him how to swim proper. 

Now that Julian thinks about it, perhaps he and his cousins might conspire to send both Bashir progenitors off on a cargo shuttle into the sun. Surely no one would miss them. Alastair always bangs on about how “Uncle Dickie” and his old man were cut from the same shady cloth. Right, he’ll get right on that one this is over and their vacation is over and Garak’s done wearing him like a sock puppet. Or in this case maybe a “ _prUt_ puppet”- similar sounding words and God shut up, Julian.

Right, that’s heat, that heat taking over- thankfully no longer his mind to the same degree but he’s already degrees hotter, his hands pawing at the table’s edge watching to touch, wanting to take his uniform off or even take the scissors and try and cut a hole where it’d be most effective. He needs it. Badly. So badly. So does Garak. There’s another growl, that heat scented in the air between them, Garak’s hands more forceful on his shoulders, head moved, forehead to forehead, his _chufa_ feeling like fire against Julian’s skin and at some point that zipper had been undone, at some point that fabric has been slipping off his shoulders and he almost thinks he should requisition one of those old 23rd century numbers because those dresses might be dated but it’d be so much easier right now to turn around and hike up a skirt and hold onto the table for dear life than have to fuss with everything else. 

“Tell me,” Garak is panting, Julian’s uniform half off. “Tell me how you want it,” Garak says and Julian really wants to feel that mouth on his a moment before he has to answer but he can focus. Absolutely… Oh… no, wrong, uniform around his waist, Garak’s hands hooking into the waist of his trunks, tugging, slowly, over his cock. Julian whimpers, shifts back and forth, tries to hold still, tries not to push his hips up tries… he really doesn’t know what he’s trying, the heavy salty scent of his heat hitting the air furiously as the fabric slips over his hips, pooling, half trapping his legs. He’s sure they’re rubbing like some genetically enhanced cricket. He really doesn’t care, his mind a swimming haze of lust, wanting to reach between them and stroke Garak, feel that cock thick and wet under his hand and-

“Please… I don’t… I don’t know you know I can’t… I can’t be that imaginative when I… when all I want is…”

“When all you want is?...” 

And he has no idea where the words come from but they’re out before he even realizes it.

“I want you to breed me.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, raise your hand who guessed correctly that this was gonna happen :D


End file.
